The bell had rung, signaling that lunch was over.
"Let's go," I told Finn, standing from the bench and gathering my things.
"Alright." He stood from the bench, putting his phone in his front pocket.
The rest of the guys stood as well.
We all grabbed our things and threw our trash away.
"See you guys after school," Carter spoke, walking away with Garrett. They both had classes in the same hallway
"Bye, Roxy. Bye, Finn." Garrett waved at us.
I waved at him. "Bye, Gare Bear."
"See you guys." Ryan walked off in a different direction as well.
"Ready?" I asked Finn.
"Yeah."
We made our way to our class. We both shared fifth period art class together.
"So who were you texting?"
"Grace." He smiled.
I nodded my head. "You know, it sucks that she doesn't go to our school."
"I know. But we text all the time. We even FaceTime." His smile didn't fade one bit.
I smiled too. "I'm glad you have somebody."
He turned to look at. "Come on." He draped his arm over my shoulders.
The conversation was starting to get mushy, and he usually didn't like talking that way about his love life.
"Alright." I wrapped my arm around his back.
"Hey, Finn, Roxy," Rogelio addressed us, as we passed him in the hallway. There was a girl walking with him. She had green eyes and light-brunette hair against her pale complexion.
"Hey," we said in unison and waved.
He waved as well and walked away.
"Hey, who was that girl with Rogelio?" I asked Finn.
"I'm not sure. Probably some girl. He's probably seeing her."
"Yeah, but she seems a bit different than the girls he usually hangs out with. Kind of shy. Plus, Rogelio doesn't date. Sure, make-out sessions? Of course. Girlfriends or dates? No."
"You know now that I think about it...Rogelio doesn't really date. I've seen him making out with girls at parties but that's it. I've never heard about him having a girlfriend," he spoke.
"Who knows. It's not our job to pry into his life."
"You're right."
We walked inside our class and sat in our seats beside each other.
When the bell rang, our teacher stood in front of the class. She gave a quick lecture about facial features. She then proceeded to pass out plain white paper, instructing us to draw our partner.
Finn and I got started. I drew him, while he drew me. More like attempted.
"When you're finished. Show it to your partner," our teacher announced.
Drawing Finn took almost the entire period, but when I finished, I showed him the drawing.
"Sorry," I spoke. "You and I both know I suck at drawing."
He chuckled, upon seeing my drawing.
"And sorry that it makes you look like a potato with hair and eyes."
He laughed. "It's fine. Here you are." He showed me his sketch of me.
"Of course," I replied. "Best artist I know." I stared at the paper. He was such a great artist. He even had the highest grade in this class.
The bell soon rang. Finn and I put our things away and stood.
"Turn in your work!" our teacher called.
Finn and I put our work at the edge of the teachers desk, before we walked outside.
"I'll see you later Rox." Finn hugged me.
"I'll see you."
We walked in different directions. I made my way down the hallway, passing a few people as I did. I saw Daniella. I tried waving but I guess she didn't see me because she continued to walk with her friends. I shrugged it off.
"My love," I heard.
I turned around, smiling. "Gare Bear."
"How was art class?"
"Same as usual. My art can't be considered art, while Finn's art is the best I've ever seen. Nothing new."
He chuckled. "Don't worry. Not everyone is great at everything. Some are better at other things. Like you and me. We're great at hiding our love from the world." He wrapped his arm around me.
"Of course," I joked. "I'll see you after school." We stopped just outside my class.
He nodded. "Bye, Roxy. See you after class."
I hugged him and walked inside my classroom. I sat in my assigned seat, taking out my notebook from my backpack and opening it to a new page.
We always started class with note-taking.
The bell rang and the class was pretty much filled.
"So today we'll discuss different mental disorders," Mr. Jacobson started. "Today, specifically, we'll discuss bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorder. We'll talk about symptoms and what causes those disorders. Prepare to take notes." He walked over to his computer and turned on the projector, revealing a PowerPoint slideshow on the screen.
During the duration of the class, we took notes. Towards the end class, we discussed the symptoms with the people around us.
When the bell rang, Mr. Jacobson didn't assign any homework. We hardly ever had homework in this class. That was one of my favorite parts of this class. We usually just had to study because every Friday we had short quizzes.
I packed up my backpack and headed outside to the hallway. It was packed; it always was. Someone accidentally bumped into me, causing me to move to my left.
I am five feet and ten inches tall. Almost six feet tall. I know people can see me when I walk down these hallways.
"Jeez." I rubbed my arm.
"Someone bump into you?" Finn asked, appearing on my right.
"Don't they always?" I asked. "Son of a gun...That really hurt." I continued to rub my arm. "Who was that even?" I turned, in search of whoever bumped into me. It was already a failed attempt because everyone walked so fast and half the people were already outside. There was no telling who bumped into me.
"Hey." Garrett appeared on my left. "What's wrong?"
"Somebody bumped into me, but I'm fine."
"Who's fine?" Carter asked. "A new girl, perhaps?"
I laughed. "Shut up."
"Who are we shutting up?" Ryan asked, walking with us now.
I laughed again.
We walked out of the school and headed to the school's parking lot. Garrett and Carter walked over to Garrett's car. Finn and I walked over to Finn's car, while Ryan walked over to his truck. The guys usually parked close to each other.
"My house?" Finn asked. "Thirty minutes. Yeah?"
The guys looked at each other and nodded.
"Yeah," they replied.
We all got in the cars, leaving the school.
Finn and I arrived at his house shortly after. We got down from his car and walked inside. I placed my backpack by the door, while Finn walked over to the kitchen.
Walking over to the couch, I started taking off my black boots. I set them down beside the couch and sat down, crossing my legs beneath me.
"Here you go." Finn walked into the living room and handed me a glass cup with orange juice.
"Thanks."
"Hey." Carter and Garrett walked through the door.
Carter sat on the opposite couch, while Garrett sat beside me.
"Drinks?" Finn asked, sitting on the arm rest of the couch Carter sat at.
"We're good right now."
"What's up?" Ryan stepped through the door and sat beside Carter.
"Anything to drink?"
"Actually, yeah." Ryan stood and followed Finn over to the kitchen.
"Who are you texting?" Garrett asked Carter.
I looked up from my phone and looked over at him.
"Daniella," he responded, with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Daniella's pretty cool," Garrett spoke.
Finn and Ryan walked back and sat beside Carter.
"Hey, has she said anything about me?" I asked him.
"Uhh...what do you mean?" he asked, looking up from the phone to meet my stare.
"Does she like me or not? At the wedding, I tried making conversation with her, but it seemed as though she didn't want to talk to me," I explained.
"She told me that you said a couple of things to her," he continued.
"Like what?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest, sitting up better.
Finn's eyes switched from Carter to me.
"She said you told her that maybe she wasn't right for me." Carter raised an eyebrow.
"She's lying, you know that, right?"
"Alright, she's not cool anymore," I heard Garrett.
"I didn't say that," I defended myself. "The only times we talked, I asked her about the wedding. I wanted to know what she thought about the ceremony because I thought it was pretty."
"That's not what she told me. She told me that you thought she wasn't good for me," he defended.
"The times I tried talking to her, she ignored me! I asked her about the flower curtain in the ceremony and she basically shrugged her shoulders," I huffed.
"She told me you would try and deny it," he stated.
"Did she really?" I questioned.
"She thinks you told her that because you have a crush on me." His eyes didn't once leave mine.
I laughed. "Honestly, Carter, now you know she's lying. I don't have a crush on you. I love you but not in that way," I admitted something he already knew. "Please, if I were to have a crush on any of you it would be..." I looked at the guys. Ryan sat up a bit. He was looking at me. "...me, myself, and I." I chuckled nervously.
"Well, Daniella thinks so because you spend a lot of time with us."
I suddenly realized what all this was about. "Now I know why she came up with those lies. She's always been the jealous type. You said it yourself. She always gets the wrong idea when I'm with you guys. She wants you to get mad at me so you'll stop hanging out with me. She doesn't get that we're all just friends. She doesn't understand. Are you still going to tell me that you believe her?"
Carter sat up. "Roxy, I love you, too, but I don't think Daniella would lie to me. I'm not trying to take sides, but I believe her."
I stood from the couch, grabbing my things and putting on my boots.
"Can one of you give me a ride home?" I asked Garrett, Ryan, and Finn.
"You want to leave?" Finn asked.
"Yes. Can someone give me a ride? I don't want to be here right now."
"I will." Ryan stood from the couch.
"Thank you."
I quickly hugged Garrett and Finn goodbye.
"Carter, I love you, but I don't want to see you right now."
Ryan and I walked out of Finn's house. We both got in his truck, and he started the engine.
"So do you want me to take you home or is there somewhere you want to go?" he asked me.
"It doesn't matter. Please, just drive."
I was too upset. How could Carter not believe me? We were best friends. I had known him longer. We both trusted each other. Daniella had told him lies just because she was jealous. I didn't do anything to her. Still, Carter chose not to believe me. It did make me sad but at the same time I was more upset.
Ryan pulled into the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant.
"Welcome to Dairy Daze, what will you be having today?" I heard from the microphone.
"May I get a cheesecake milkshake," Ryan spoke into the microphone. "Mint chocolate chip for you?" he asked me.
"Uh, sure," I replied.
"And a mint chocolate chip milkshake, too," he spoke.
"Alright, one cheesecake milkshake and a mint chocolate chip milkshake. Will that be all?" I heard.
"Anything else?" Ryan turned to me, and I shook my head.
"That's all."
"Alright, it will be seven fifty. Please drive up."
Ryan did as he was told. I got money out from my backpack and tried handing it to him, but he refused.
"Welcome to Dairy Daze. One cheesecake milkshake." The worker handed it to him. "And one mint chocolate chip milkshake." He handed Ryan the other milkshake which he handed to me. "Seven fifty please."
Ryan took out his wallet and handed the guy the money. The worker handed Ryan his change.
"Thank you, and have a great day," he told us.
"Thanks, you too," Ryan spoke and then drove.
"Thanks for the milkshake," I spoke.
He nodded his head.
Ryan continued to drive. We ended up at the park where we usually hung out. He parked the truck on the side of the street then we both got down.
"Come on." He led the way up the grass. We walked up to a bench and we both sat down. "You said drive anywhere so..."
"Thanks."
"So are you alright?" he questioned.
I sighed and leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. He leaned into me and wrapped his arm around me.
"It's just that I'm so upset. I didn't say those things to Daniella," I spoke.
"I know. We all believe you. Well, except for Carter. He just likes Daniella way too much."
"I know, but it gets me so mad and yet sad at the same time. He doesn't trust me, and I'm one of his closest friends."
"I understand. I'll try and talk to him."
"No, don't." I sat up straight and Ryan removed his arm. "Let's just leave him alone right now. He'll believe what he wants. I already told him the truth. I don't need any more justification." I turned to Ryan.
"Alright," he spoke. "So...earlier when Carter accused you on having a crush on him, and you denied it, but then you said something like 'if I were to have a crush on any of you it would be...' who were you talking about?" he questioned.
No. I had hoped he didn't catch that. There was no way I could tell him the truth.
I turned, looking anywhere else but at his eyes. I settled my vision on a squirrel. It had ran across the grass and up a tree to my left.
"I was just talking about myself," I spoke. "It was a joke, Ryan. Why?" I turned to face him. "Aren't I fabulous?" I joked.
I heard him chuckle. "Of course. The best."